Page 29 of Catching Coy
Gunner grimaced. “Uh-oh. What do you have going on?”
Coy gave him the run-down—Lucy’s accusations and Gillian’s denials. “I can’t ignore what Lucy said,” he finished. “I have something significant with her and I don’t want to believe she’d lie to me to damage my other relationships. But I also know that she’s possessive and will do what it takes to be here in the end with me.”
“And Gillian?” Gunner asked.
“I don’t know her well enough. Honestly, I think I would have cut her tonight if all this hadn’t happened. But what if Lucy did lie about her? How can I keep Lucy here if she’s willing to stoop that low?”
Gunner whistled. “With this many women out to win your love, it’s hard to know, right? How do the other women feel about Lucy?”
Coy let out a breath. “Well, Gillian hates her, obviously.” Gunner chuckled with Coy and gave an of-course shrug. “But I don’t know about Bellamy and Charlotte. Charlotte would never say a mean thing about anyone, and Bellamy is trying to stay out of things.”
Gunner nodded. “They won’t want to speak bad of Lucy, especially if there’s already drama around the she-said, she-said things. Sounds like a pickle.”
“Wow, thanks, man. Big help.” Coy let his head drop back on the couch in defeat.
Gunner chuckled. “Tell me about Bellamy. Sounds like you’ve got as much out-of-the-box drama as I did.”
Coy glanced over at Agnes, sitting in a chair out of sight of the cameras with her ever-present iPad, probably taking notes about what pieces of the conversation she wanted to keep. She looked up. “We’ll keep filming in case there’s something I want to use, but I promise to keep out anything you don’t want me to. I don’t want too much Bellamy-specific conversation anyway. I need to keep some suspense here.”
When Coy turned back to Gunner, the man had a mischievous grin on his face. “She’s still mad about all the sneaking out,” Gunner said.
Coy laughed. “She’s mad that I’m following in your footsteps.”
“It was a good story, Agnes!” Gunner called. “You know the fans ate it up when they found out.”
Agnes huffed, but she didn’t deny Gunner’s charge.
Coy lowered his voice, even if it didn’t matter. “How did you do it? How did you know that Mae was the one you wanted to risk everything for when you still cared about the women there?”
“I was me around her. I wasn’t the guy in front of sport’s cameras or someone playing along for the drama of the show. It felt safe and real and important.”
All things that Coy felt about Bellamy. “I think she might be the one.”
Gunner raised his eyebrows and then slowly nodded. His gaze darted to the side, where they both knew Agnes was sitting. She was shaking her head but had a smile on her face.
Gunner grinned. “Then does the other stuff matter?”
“My contract says it does,” Coy said. Agnes rolled her eyes.
“Then good luck.”
“You know,” Agnes said after Gunner had hung up and the crew was leaving him to prepare for the draft ceremony, “this isn’t just about the money for me. I’d be doing some other kind of show if I didn’t believe that my guys here could find love. Cross my heart.” She leaned in and gave him a quick hug, surprising him. Agnes had always been all business with him.
It surprised him so much all he could say was, “Thanks,” before she disappeared out the door.
* * *
Bellamy 27
Little River, Wyoming
Manager, The Ranch House at the Arrow C
“This week has been … an experience. I should have expected the … drama and … stuff. It’s crazy being on this side and being so invested—having my heart on the line.”
* * *
This week’steam gear was a Catch jersey in the Denver Mountaineer colors, with “Jones” emblazoned across the back. Tonight, there were only three. He would cut one woman tonight and Gunner’s words, “Does any of the rest matter?” ran through his head. He’d convinced himself to let Charlotte go. His friendship with Charlotte grew with each week that he kept her and sending her home in favor of Bellamy might hurt more, even if he could picture choosing Charlotte in the end. Like Agnes had said about Sybil, Gillian would be easier to let go next week.
